(0) Other Revisions. In the ninth century an attempt was made, but not on the soundest prin ciples, to correct the Vulgate. This was done by command of Charlemagne, who intrusted the task to Alcuin. The amended Vulgate was now intro duced by royal authority into all the churches of France. It is still doubtful whether the correc tion was made from the Hebrew original, or from ancient copies of the Vulgate.
In the eleventh century a new revision was un dertaken by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, and another in the succeeding century (at which period Roger Bacon says that it was horribly cor rupted), by Cardinal Nicolaus the Deacon, a good Hebrew scholar. About the same period appeared in France the Epanorthota•, or Correctoria Bib lica, which were attempts to establish the true text on the part of Abbot Stephen, Cardinal Hugo, and others. From these corrections, however, it appears that the corruptions were so numerous as to render it almost vain to expect to recover the true text. 'Every reader and preacher,' says Roger Bacon (Epist. to Clem. IV.), 'changes what he does not understand: their correction is the worst of corruptions, and God's word is de stroyed.' This was the state of the text at the time of the invention of printing, by which its variations were more clearly brought to light, and critical attempts made to amend it.
(6) History of the Printed Text. The Latin Vulgate was the first book ever printed, having been issued from the press about 1455, soon after the invention of printing. The earliest printed editions are without a date. The first which has a date was published at Mayntz in 1462, by Fust and Schoiffher. It was afterwards printed in 1471, and 1476. Critical editions appeared in 1496, 1497, 1501, 1504, 1506, 1511, and 1517— the last that of the Complutensian Polyglot, done with great care. This was followed by the Ant werp Polyglot, and the critical editions of Colin Rudel, Benoist, Isidore Clarius, and Robert Stephens. The variations of the text now ap peared more plainly than ever. Isidore Clarius (1542) corrected more than 8,000 errors (which some have exaggerated into 8o,000). Stephens' beautifully executed and amended text (1527) was condemned to be burned. This learned printer afterwards collated several manuscripts, and published editions in 1532, 1533, and 1540. This last (the fourth) is called by Father Simon a masterpiece. Stephens' edition of 1545 (the non pareil) contained a new version, that of the Old Testament being made by Leo Judah, Bibliander, and Peter Cholin. This is one of those called Vatable's Bibles. The translator of De \Vette's Einliqtung observes that Stephens' sixth and sev enth improvements. (1546 and 1555) contain no impor tant mprovements. The accurate De \Vettc, how ever, was aware that the seventh edition con tained the division into verses. Benoist (t541) made an unsuccessful attempt to restore Jerome's text.
In the meantime the Council of Trent passed its famous decree (A. D. 1546, Sess. 4, Decret. 2) respecting the Vulgate: 'The most holy Synod, considering that no small advantage will accrue to the church of God, if from all the Latin edi tions of the sacred hooks which are in circulation, it should determine which is to be received as authentic decrees, and declares that the ancient Vulgate version, which has been approved in thd church by the use of so many ages, should be used in public readings, disputations, sermons, and ex positions, as authentic, and that none is to pre sume to reject it under any pretense whatsoever.'
De \Vctte (Einleitung) conceives that this decree shuts the door against any exegetical inquiry into the doctrines of the church. Moehler (Sym bolik, p. t, ch. v. sec. xlii.), however, maintains that there could be no such thing as an exegetical inquiry into the doctrines of the church, which declares her dogmas by her infallible authority independently of Scripture, although she may ap ply and even misapply testimonies from Scripture to this purpose, being infallible in the former case, but not in the latter. The most learned Ro man Catholics differ materially as to the sense of the word authentic, some considering, as Morinus (Exercit. Bibl.), that the Vulgate is hereby pro nounced to be an inspired version, others (as Suarez) that the version is placed above all ex isting texts of the originals. Many contend that it was only meant to give it a preference to any other Latin version then in use (BeIlarmin, De Verbo Del; CaImes Disscrt; Jahn's and ling's introd.). Some of the Roman theologians hold it to be infallible only so far as faith and morals are concerned (Dens, Theologia). Ilug consid ers the meaning of the decree to be, that 'as in civil affairs an authentic instrument is valid evi dence, so in public religious matters the Vulgate is a document from which valid arguments may be drawn, without prejudice, however, to other documents (viz. the originals) ; but this is not a prescription of doctrine, and from its nature it could not be; it is a temporary decree of disci pline.' In fact few Roman Catholics have main tained its exemption from error, and the most learned and judicious Protestants (Mill, Proleg.; Bengel, Apparatus; Lachmann, Preface) justly conspire in holding it in a high degree of venera tion. Jahn observes that the Oriental Christians in communion with Rome still use their own ver sions, the Greek, Armenian, Syriac, and Arabic.
(7) Sixtine and Clementine Vulgates. On April 8, t546, the Council of Trent made a decree which expressed the wish for a fresh revision. Scholars were dilatory about undertaking the duty, till a pontiff of iron will, Sixtus V., urged on the work and even took a personal part in its accomplishment. The revision was published in 159o. A different one came forth tinder the aus pices of pope Clement VIII. in 1592. It was an improvement on the Sixtine edition, but did not quite render it obsolete. Both editions arc still in use. The Clementine text of the Vulgate of the Old Testament, with the various readings of the codex Amiatinus, has been edited by I leyse and Tischendorf, and the New Testament accord ing to the codex Amiatinus by Tischendorf. It is from the Vulgate that a large part of the tech nical language used in theology is derived. For instance, sacrament, justification, and sanctifica tion are simply the anglicized forms of sacra mentum, justificatio, and sanctificatio, occurring in the Vulgate.